Texas Biomed Staff

Lorena M. Havill

Summary

Havill and her team investigate variation in risk of two common aging-related diseases of the skeletal system: Osteoporosis (“fragile bone disease”) and osteoarthritis. These disorders are extremely common age-related skeletal diseases, but their causes and the ability to prevent and treat them remain elusive.

Osteoporosis involves loss of bone from the skeleton and changes in the quality and arrangement of the remaining bone, resulting in a skeleton that is more likely to fracture.

Osteoarthritis involves destruction of the joints of the skeleton, resulting in pain, stiffness, and limited mobility that make this disease the leading cause of disability in the U.S.

Dr. Havill applies molecular and statistical genetic methods in studies of large extended pedigrees of baboons and humans to interrogate the roles of genetic and sex differences in bone fragility and in osteoarthritis.

Her research program is built on novel study designs to 1) reveal the fundamental biological mechanisms that underlie variation in risk of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, and 2) identify the specific genes that are most important in disease risk. Her studies involve a holistic rather than reductionist approach to disorders of skeletal aging that she believes is essential to significant advances in basic knowledge of these disease processes that are needed for more effective prevention and treatment.